Subscribe to The Villa blog to get a FREE copy of our Chemistry of Confidence guide below, one of our most popular self-guided confidence building exercises that can help anyone overcome self-doubt when it comes time to be a confident leader.

Why do some people seem to have plenty of confidence, while others struggle with it? How do we build confidence?

Subscribe to our The Villa blog to get a copy of this self-guided confidence-building exercise. Learn simple secrets to build a stronger “core” to be confident in any situation. You CAN learn confidence - and it's a lot easier than you may think.

The theme for International Women's Day this year is "Be Bold For Change".

We as women tend to play it safe - we stay small, hidden, timid, and quiet. It's time to stand up, speak up, and be the change you want to see in the world. Don't let your potential and strength stay hidden behind fear. The Villa is a community of strong, empowered women who are learning to overcome fears and become leaders that change the world - one act of courage at a time. Visit our storytelling blog at Our Villa Network for more stories, worksheets, tips, tricks, and highlights of inspiring everyday women just like you. Make 2017 YOUR year to #BeBoldForChange.

International Women's Day isn't just about giving a flower to a woman you appreciate and telling her she's great. This day, March 8, is a symbol of the struggles that women around the world have undergone to gain equality and rights and a reminder of how far there is still to go. Fortunately, there are some things that you can do to help celebrate this important day.

Sitting across the table from me today was a person very different from the one I had seen a month before; with tearful anger, she had told me she was looking for a new job. She needed inspiration, and a team that valued her commitment and wanted to be part of her high-performance machine. She felt undervalued and unappreciated, not to mention undercompensated.

We've all heard the buzzword "mindfulness" in recent years. Many organizations are realizing that in order to reduce stress, we have to stop thinking about the future all the time and just be in the moment. Here at Chocolate Villa, we teach different ways to focus in, listen to your emotions, and reduce stress. Mindfulness is a great way to do all three. But just what is mindfulness?

We need the combination of intention and structure to actually help us “live the life we have imagined,” as Thoreau encourages us to do. If we imagine the Big Dots as our dreams, we can use the Little Dot actions to keep us moving in that direction, as in “living the life”—the daily practices and behaviors that actually create the movement we need to achieve the dream.

Filled with recipes, photos and conversation games to take you right back to your Chocolate Villa week, the Cookbook is colorful, dynamic and rich with the tastes and memories of your dining experience at Chocolate Villa. A little self-indulgence—er, we mean self-care—goes a long way.

In conversation with a dear friend and colleague earlier this week, she said, “I want to do all of my work from now on in the spirit of love—with my work partners, with my clients, and in the projects I am choosing to do. To do anything else, at this point in my career, is a waste of energy.”

I wake up every morning feeling like I can rule the world. I jump out of bed and am not only ready, but excited, to start my day at work. I've regained the passion I used to feel for my career, and I've been much more aware of maintaining work-life balance, which has already made a difference to my family...I'm cultivating positive thoughts and repeating my mantra, "They are damn lucky to have me."

Brene Brown, Research Professor from the University of Austin, says, “Connection is why we’re here. It’s what gives purpose and meaning to our lives. This is what it’s all about.”

But what is connection for us now? Is it a Facebook or face-to-face conversation? Is it an email or a handwritten note? A smile across the room or an emoticon text? Perhaps it’s all of the above. Our world has changed, and we have changed with it. And inasmuch as some experts are saying that electronic communication is changing us in only negative ways, others are saying our brains get the same reinforcing chemical hit when someone “likes” our most recent post.